The Hero of the Millennium
by The Original Navar
Summary: Three thousand years ago, Hyrule's world was cursed to be destroyed. With no hero to save them, the Goddesses used their power to merge Hyrule with another. The Hylians spread to find that they were not alone. Their magic began to fail them and they went into hiding. When they emerged, Hyrule found that they had been left behind. Now they are on Earth, and so is their dark history.
1. Prologue- The Flight

Prologue

The date was June 5th, 1944. The allied powers were pushing their way into Europe from Italy and Russia and soon to be Normandy. The world was seeing just how powerful each side was as the Nazi power fell out of its glory and into a last ditch effort to save itself. It would be in vain.

But it was not on the front lines that this story takes place, but far behind into friendly territory. A squadron of British Spitefuls flew across northern Russia to aid in the liberation of Burma from the Japanese. There were five of them flying above the wild landscape, ready to get to their destination. They wouldn't know however, but they would never get to Burma.

Jack Richardson sat in the leader's cockpit, checking his altimeter. It was a nice day, he was sure, back in London, despite the reconstruction, but all around him and his squad was fog and clouds. They had only been over Russia for roughly four hours, planning on stopping in the provisional airfield, Severouralsk, across the Ural Mountains, but then the fog had moved in and the field had radioed a report of a snowstorm sweeping down from the mountains. They told him to fly the northern route and come in from there, the storm would be more likely to have passed them. Jack, being the squad leader, relayed the commands to his fellows, four others in total, and they had turned up for the higher mountains. He had brought with him a map, but not of the region so Alfred was coordinating with him on their progress, since he had packed a set of maps that had more of Russia on them, along with some of these mostly uncharted mountains.

"Shouldn't we be over some mountains by now?" The intercom buzzed with slight static, from the mountainous terrain. "We'll be at them shortly, Shorty." Shorty was Alfred's nickname to their youngest pilot, James, an American. Alfred could be heard chuckling through the radio as he bade his little joke. Things were never very tense in the group, and most of the time there was much more to be had amongst them, but seeing as the fog was thick and the mountains so close, their attention was more focused on navigating by their maps, radar, altimeters and wits alone. The radar was only a little helpful, telling them the rough location of the nearest peaks. At least a mile or two away each.

Alfred cleared his throat. "If we go down will anyone be able to find us, do ya think. These mountains sure are close-knit." He was right, the only map of the area between them all showed hundreds of unsurpassable terrain. "I'm sure they could air drop us supplies and whatnot until we get out, assuming we survive a crash in them." Jack said, checking his altimeter again, which had begun to rise. "The mountains are climbing as we speak boys."

James was, however, still stuck on what Alfred had said, the young man worried. "Nobody's been in these mountains since before God made them, how are we supposed to know that this is where they would look? We might just freeze to death, or-" He was cut off by Will, whose deep voice cut through the static. "Shut up, will ya James? We don't need that sort of thing on our minds."

"Sorry sir. Can't help but think of it."

Of course they were all thinking it, even Jack, but if they voiced it panic might overtake their instincts. This wouldn't be at all helpful to the success of their mission. Which was, at the moment, to navigate the fog and mountains to get to Severouralsk.

The radio was silent for a moment, a slight buzz of static now and then, which was beginning to bug them all, even Frank, who hadn't spoken in a while. "What is that god forsaken, bloody static!?" He hit the radio a few times, the others remaining silent as he did so. "Nobody knows, maybe someone is leaving their mic on. Let's have a check while we're at it, actually." Jack tapped his intercom as he said their names.

"Alfred."

"Check."

"Frank."

"Stupid, bloody, fu-"

"Will."

"Here."

"James."

"Yep."

"Ok then, that's that, can we all see each other's lights?" There was some static for a moment before James and Frank responded. "I can see you guys, there's a break in the clouds and your lights look fine." Frank however was still swearing at his radio for producing static. "Frank, you see our lights?" He responded with a yes in between two longer lines of curses.

"Frank, shut the hell up or I'll beat the snot out of you, I will!" Will shouted, causing Frank to break his lines of swearing and finally lean off his microphone, the static stopping as soon as he did. Not too long after that little awkward silence, the clouds started to clear. It wasn't very noticeable at first, seeing as they were flying high, but James was the first to notice it.

"Hey! Look below us, the clouds are breaking up!" Jack assumed they all did as he said and lo and behold, the clouds were a bit clearer. Jack pressed his mic. "Who wants to be the first down to see if it's safe to lower ourselves?"

"I got it." Frank said, finally calmed down. "I'll just be a second." Jack nodded to himself, giving Frank the ok.

"I wonder if I'll be the first to see these mountains from a plane in history, it would be an honor." It was obviously a joke, but he lowered himself below the clouds. The reason they all didn't was so that they all didn't accidentally collide with a mountain if there was one below them. Didn't want that.

"Hey Jack, you picking up that blip on the radar?" Alfred had made a glance to see if he could see a mountain, as had Jack. "I see it, what do you see down there Frank?" He shouted the last part, as if he actually had to. It was more for the effect than anything.

"It's safe to lower yourselves, if that's your question. Other than that- you won't believe your eyes when you do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James said, dipping his plane down as the others did the same. There was an audible gasp from all of them as they could see the sprawling land below them.

Within a large ring of mountains, at least two hundred miles of changing landscape was beneath them. A large desert in the west overlooking a lake from a cliff. In the south was a large forest dotted with giant, ancient trees. To the north was a landscape of snow and ice, leading to a beautiful small lake with what looked like a waterfall, but was too far away to be certain. Directly ahead of them, to the east, was a larger set of mountains, one spewing smoke into the sky and magma visible at some points on the side. Between all these were large plains dotted with ponds and rivers. But that wasn't the amazing part.

The amazing part was the castle set in the canter as if it were a jewel of a crown, with a small city around it. Over the western lake was a bridge, and to the south a clearing in the woods could be seen with visible houses and smoke rising out. There were large farms sprawling through its outer regions, a beautiful pattern woven out of the fields.

"If you had told me, I would have called you an idiot…" Someone muttered over the radio, the voice made unrecognizable due to the softness, yet it spoke as if from all of them. "Do you see a landing strip down there, or do we just fly on?" Jack said, still peering at the ground far below, when he noticed something odd. "Is that city on fire?" Indeed it was, large plumes of smoke billowed out and tiny specs of people could be seen fleeing from the city.

Over the radio, they all heard their radars beep. A long, steady beat. "We got something incoming, and fast. I think it's what we saw a moment ago." They all looked out ahead of them, a dark shape filling the clouds in front of them. "Evasive maneuvers!" They all flew away from the shape, engines spurring to greater speeds as they pulled away from the shape. But not fast enough. A huge thing flew through the cloud, its skin red like blood and golden eyes piercing huge legs were beneath it, the size of a small house and as tall as a normal one. It was easily over one hundred feet, a long tail with spiked spines swaying behind it. "Is that…" The voice was cut off by a scream as the thing roared, loud enough for them to hear in their cockpits, and slammed into Will's plane.

"God damn i-" The voice was cut off as the plane hurtled toward the ground, its propeller gone with its left wing as it spiraled toward the ground. "Will!" James shouted as he brought his plane out of its downward streak.

"I'm ejecting!" A small shape flew out of the falling plane, a parachute flowing out from it.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief, watching the giant beast fly back down towards the town. "A bloody, fucking dragon. I can't believe it." Frank said, turning towards it.

"We can't leave will down there, hanging in the sky with a, still can't believe it, dragon. That and its attacking the town down there." James's voice stuttered as he mentioned the dragon, it had been fearsome indeed. Jack, turned his plane towards it, a scowl on his face.

"Prepare to engage the dragon. Let's deal with it like it was an airship. Big strong, yet slow. Frank, you go above for bombing coverage once we get it away from the city."

"Aye!" They all shouted, pulling their planes toward the dragon.

Frank swept in first, machine guns blazing as he passed above the dragon. After him Jack and Alfred did the same, James backing off, holding his guns for the time being. The dragon seemed slightly annoyed at best, but turned its head up at Alfred, its chest beginning to glow red. "You think it shoots fire?" He said quickly, just before the fire spewed out, covering his plane.

Jack flew in from behind, firing at its back, the flame ceasing. "You alright Alfred?" A gasp came from Alfred as he wiped his brow of sweat, pulling his flight cap off and loosening his jacket. "Felt like I was almost fried. My plane seems fine though, just scorched." They flew around the beast in tangent as it looked at Alfred as if he should be crispy. And very dead.

That's when James looked into its eyes, piercing gold. It locked eyes with him, even with the distance and the goggles. _That thing's intelligent. _He thought, turning toward it.

"Now James!" Jack ordered, shaking him out of his little trance. He hit the button on his flight-stick and watched a missile fly out from beneath his right wind. The dragon roared, turning to face James. Frank smirked at the missile arced into the dragon's mouth and exploded, the dragon's eyes rolling and a booming noise followed. The dragon hacked and coughed, staying where it had been, eyes buggering out of its head. Alfred took note of this. "Go for its eyes as it coughs, I don't think a dragon's going to be down long from one missile."

Jack spun toward the right eye, firing a round of bullets. Most connected with the eye, causing it to light up red and green, the dragon roaring and closing its eyes, maybe ignoring the pain from the missile shrapnel in its mouth.

"Let's do that again, I think that might have done something!"

"James fly away and switch to your next missile, myself, Alfred and Frank will get it to open its mouth again, when it does fire away!"

James flew over the dragons back and to its far side, Frank providing a proper distraction for the dragon. "How do ya like this, you Komodo!" Alfred shouted, firing a string of bullets at its eye again, watching in disappointment as they bounced off harmlessly. The dragon spotted him as he drew closer, something of a smirk appearing on the its face. Its leg came up, hitting the underside of Alfred's plane causing it to flip end over end. "Damn!" He began to steady himself when the dragon spun at him, roared and bit his plane in two. The cockpit and the front of the wings went flying off, the propeller spinning for a moment before sputtering to a stop.

The dragon spit the tail of the plane out, pieces flying in several directions.

"Alfred!" Frank shouted. "Go to hell you beast!" He fired a rocket at it as it turned toward the sound of his engine nearing. Its maw opened wide as fire spewed out, igniting the bomb as it entered its maw. Its eyes closed then bulged out.

"Fire!" James shouted, letting a rocket loose at the dragon's eye before he pulled up to narrowly avoid the dragon's horns. The rocket connected, the head flying to the side as it did. The explosion made it roar in pain, the three pilots roaring in triumph at both the blast and the parachute opening below them, Alfred's plane landing in a field below. The smoke cleared from the dragon's eye, showing an empty socket splattered with glittering shrapnel and blood. The remaining eye locked onto the planes.

"Back off for a moment, let it give us a quick chase. Frank tryi and get behind it and pepper its stomach. James, gat to my side." James and Jack pulled together, speeding up as the dragon roared, blood streaming out of its eye socket. With three gigantic flaps of its wings it flew after the two of them, ignoring Frank who flew low below the beast to avoid detection.

"Let's get toward the volcano, maybe we can get it in there and let it melt." Jack hesitated after James voiced his idea. He cleared his throat. "If it is, that may just make it angry."

"Look out!"

Franks voice shouted through the radio, making Jack and James jump. Jack spun to the right, the dragon's roar clearly audible as if flew past, its gigantic wings knocking his plane out of control as soon as they hit his own plane's wing. "Hell!" He heard James panicking, trying to regain control of his own aircraft. "It knocked my wing off! I'm going down!"

Jack spun around a blast of flame, rolling up and around the dragons back. He caught a glimpse of James's plane as it spiraled down. "Get its other eye for me!" He shouted into the radio, a small body flying up and out of the plane, a parachute opening after it fell a short ways. They were over a canyon now, and low enough to see a town amongst the rocks. James landed in a pool of water near the top of the canyon wall.

"Heyaaaah!" Frank screamed as he spun around the front of the dragon, firing two of his missiles into the hide of the dragon, his rage paralleled by the dragon. It spun at him, mouth wide open to slam its jaws down on Frank. It washed Frank's plane in fire, Frank swearing at it the whole way, breathing hard in the increased heat.

As smart as the dragon was, it was utterly stupid and yowled in pain as the rocket slammed into its throat. Its empty left eye socket surged with blood, oily red with venomous green. The other eye bulged and lost focus. It hacked and spewed fire out of its mouth, trying to melt down the shrapnel.

"Eat this you bastard!" Jack flew over the dragon, flipping a switch as he flew over the dragon. The bomb dropped from under his plane, falling like a rock onto the head of the dragon. It roared and flew forward, faster than ever. Its whole head was scorched and cracked, its horns stubs. The remaining right eye was no more, leaving the dragon blind. But still it flew, straight to the east.

To the volcano.

"Damn it, damn, damn damn!" Frank's voice on the radio quivered, still harsh with swearing. "I was too close to the head, my landing gear are crippled I think. My elevators and rudder are stuck as well, very sluggish at the moment." Jack slowed down to fly beside Frank. He was right, one of his wheels was hanging down and sparking slightly. His whole tail section was fused and slightly melted, more than likely from the dragon's flame.

"I think I'm going to have to bail, take out the dragon for me. It's putting a dent in my paycheck." He gave a quick salute out the window as he let go of the controls, the plane already turning down towards the top of the canyon. His cockpit popped and with almost no noise he flew out, the plane crashing into the dusted rock below.

Just Jack and the dragon. Not that it was able to do much at any rate. Its eyes were gone and it seemed to be lowering itself down to the earth slowly, but it was still speeding away toward the volcano. Jack scowled, shifting in his seat. "Time to die, beast." He gunned his engine, the plane speeding off after the dragon. The volcano was right there, magma slowly pouring down the sides. "Die you snakey bastard!" He opened fire on the dragon's back, firing his guns and the rest of his rockets into its head and back. It roared, a gush of flame spiraling out of its throat.

He pulled ahead of it, looking down on the cracked scaled head, blood oozing out and falling onto the craggy landscape below sparse of plants. He flicked the switch again, his second and last bomb falling out behind him. "Take that you scaly menace." He snarled, tugging the controls. He swerved away from the dragon and narrowly missed the volcano's side. The bomb hit it square on its scaled head, the cracks exploding in blood and shrapnel. It roared one final time, more along the lines of a gurgle honestly, before it crashed into the wall of the volcano, cracking both its own head and the side. Magma oozed out over the dragon's body, covering it in the red liquid. Jack cheered from within his plane, the surge of victory expelling the stress of the battle.

Jack turned away from the volcano, flying back toward the canyon. Spotting a flat stretch of land near it. Pulling around him made a quick landing, the plane shuddering to a stop about 50 feet or so from the edge of the canyon. He opened the cockpit, climbing out and falling face first onto the barren landscape in a heap.

A straight day of travel in a plane leaves your legs weak, he reminded himself as he rolled over onto his back. He had done it. He had killed a bloody dragon, a thing of myths.

It wasn't long after that that Frank found him staring at the sky, now blue and cloudless. He sat down next to him. "Now wasn't that a work of the devil." Jack smirked, sitting up. "And what are we then, angels?"

"I would think so." A voice behind them said. They turned to see a tall man in multicolored robes standing beside the plane. "Welcome to Hyrule."

**AUTHOR TIME**

Hello! I am The Original Navar, writer of this here story. It's based off of the Zelda series, which I do not own, by the way. You may be thinking "_This isn't exactly modern being from the 1940's and WW2"_ But this is just the Prologue, a taste of the past and the beginning of the story. Next chapter will take us to the future! (2010)

I hope you enjoy.


	2. Chapter 1- The Beginning of the End

Chapter 1

"It was "The beginning of the end". That's what the Hylian historians called the end of World War 2. When Hyrule was introduced to the world anew, and Hyrule's lifestyle was threatened by the superpowers of the USSR and the US. Only Britain's presence prevented total catastrophe in the Hyrule summit meetings, kept hidden from the public eye, and other world powers like France or Japan. No, this was a meeting of those who knew of Hyrule. Either through the pilots or through borders, Hyrule was no longer a secret.

The USSR dominated the scene, surrounding Hyrule on all sides it threatened Hylian everyday life. Communism would see the royal family murdered, not that there weren't supporters of that idea. The United States attempted numerous times to overthrow the Hylian government, either through supporting the small rebel groups, or through changing their culture. It was this attempt that turned the farming town of Ordon, who was not considered part of Hyrule Proper, into a modern city, with a few skyscrapers to its name. Once the Cold war went into swing, however, their presence left entirely. Only Britain remained to preserve the monarchy, assisting Hyrule's government whenever uprisings occurred through USSR or American supported rebels.

The major reason for the indirect interference, were the magic borders which surrounded the land of Hyrule. Ancient magic to keep enemies of the Hylian people from invading. Only one entrance was not covered by this magic: the Lost Woods. Many times people emerged from these woods from all over the world, from many different ages. But with Latoan city's rise and spread, all that remained of the ancient, vast forest, were a few groves and parks littering the city. If you weren't careful, one could step into those tiny groves and never return. But that wasn't a problem for those who stood clear.

With the Lost woods gone, a border patrol was put in place and a miniature Cold War between Hyrule and Britain against the USSR. If there was even a shot fired, the USSR would retaliate, then so would Britain and through NATO, the US would return. Thankfully this never happened. Latoan city grew without interference, and thus the Ordon agreement was signed. No citizen of Latoan city would enter Hyrule proper, not without proper documents and permission from Queen Zelda herself. That however was the bad side of the Historical documents. But this also forced Hylian Citizens to stay within Hyrule's magical borders, which covered even Ordon. Hyrule would not leave. No ideas would enter or exit through its citizens.

Many other historians called this "The awakening of Hyrule". Hyrule began to realize how far behind in the world it was, literally in the dark ages to some nations in the world. It could have spurred a period of advancement, but with the passing of the Ordon agreement, this idea didn't come to be. Hyrule would keep its traditions, and its technology safe from conforming to the rest of the world. At least, in Hyrule proper. Latoan city grew with the world, at least for a time. At some point in the mid-seventies it stopped growing with the world trends. Its own culture forming and simplifying the city. Some people called it the Legacy of Malo, but others simply called it Ordon Syndrome. It became unique in a way, its own city for its people.

Then we come to what could be considered "modern times" to the rest of the world. Cars and trucks drove through the city, out to drop-off points at the edge of the city to pick up crops and other supplies from Hylian farmers. The tiered city, as some call it, is now modern in some ways. It lacks in others. The rest of the world can move on and Queen Zelda would have us sit here and forget…" Link dropped the newspaper, draining the last few drops of his coffee from his mug and tossed it in the sink to wash later, like the other hundred dishes. The political section was always so wordy, honestly annoying in a lot of ways. Why he read it he had no idea, the paper was a month old at least but he had seen it on discount Malo-mart so he bought it. He didn't have much else in the apartment to read anyway. It wasn't a large apartment, nor was it fancy. Some would call it impoverished, but to Link it was his home. The dirty carpet and the beat up cupboards. The stained ceiling that chipped away whenever the people above stepped to hard, and the faucet that didn't stop dripping. That was home to him.

He pulled his bag onto his shoulders and grabbed a keying from the hook. Pulling on his boots he stepped out the door, locking it behind him. He jogged down the steps, pulling his jacket on. With a quick wave at Ms. Genery at the desk, Link stepped out onto the streets of bottom tier Latoan. Not much to look at in the bottom tier, brick and cement buildings lined the busy street, litter spilling out of some alleyways and a few people slumped on street corners, either dead, drunk or knocked out. Yep, just like the Hyrule the Hylian Academy talks about.

Link walked down the street a ways, stepping over a pile of garbage bags. He got to the shed, owned by the apartment he stayed in. This is where he kept his pride and joy: a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle, made and driven to Hyrule by some company that was quickly driven out of Hyrule by the few Hylian auto manufacturers. Their inventory had stayed in its warehouse and were sold at very low prices, due to their age. Link had gotten one when he had the money, about when he was fifteen, so he had been driving it for about three years now. Its green paintjob was heavily faded, and there were many scratches along its body from when Link was figuring out just how to use it. It wasn't much, but it still ran fairly well for its age. It made his ride to work easy enough with all the traffic.

He used his key and opened the rickety wooded door. He stepped inside and grabbed his helmet from a bench littered with dusty and ultimately useless tools. He pulled his green beret out of the helmet, stuffing it in his bag. Sitting down, Link fixed his goggles securely around his head, and started the bike. It revved to life, and he pulled out of the shed, the door slamming shut behind him. He got onto the street, with a few angry shouts from some other drivers, and sped on his way, dodging traffic.

It wasn't before long that he had left the city behind, driving into a small path in the eastern Hills. Traffic was never bad on a Saturday, especially the day after the Picori Festival. So many celebrations often left people with a homely disposition. Link however was on his way to academy, where the second largest party was held by the students of that school. He stopped at the border check, waved his card to William, the guard on post today. He barely showed his pass before Link was waved through, he was a regular on this rarely used road. He drove onward, through the trees and hills until the trees thinned out, and the grass turned to course brown dirt that the Eldin Province was known for.

To his left, Link caught a glimpse of the town of Kakariko, it was rather small but it always managed to warm his heart seeing the town. Not that he wanted to live there. He hadn't left the familiar, and he didn't want to. He was content, and he was sure the villagers were too. The town disappeared behind high walls of sedimentary stone. The sound of his engine no doubt unheard by the mining town. He sped along the road to the academy.

**AUTHOR THING**

Well here we are again, its always such a pleasure. The beginning of the story and the introduction of Link! I hope to make this feel somewhat link a normal Zelda title, complete with dungeons, companions and items, just a more modern world to run around in. This one is a shorter one, I admit, but the original version of this, vastly different, bugged out and became corrupted. So I had to rewrite it to get it out today. I will summarize the rest in coming chapters next week.

I hope to post a chapter either every month or every ~two~ weeks (aside from next week). I might even open up a question blog or something later if this picks up in views. So stay tuned for the introduction of the Hylian Academy! A place of knowledge, learning, parties, other stuff, and hopefully no cliches! (The Hylian academy will not be the focal point of this fic, I assure you) I do not own anything to do with The Legend of Zelda.


	3. Chapter 2- The Hylian Academy

Chapter 2

Link slowed down as he approached the Academy village, keeping to the back road he was on as he made his way to The Academy. He pulled around a small grove of trees and found himself staring at the back side of the large building that loomed before him, towering over the grey cliffs that surrounded Link. And that was from the back side of the Hylian Academy, the front was a mix of statues, facades and towering pillars. Red brick, marble and sandstone compromised its structure, at least at the surface level. If you went around to the back, as Link had to go to every day, you would see simply red brick flatness. Well aside from a part of the building that stuck out in a half circle sort of shape. That was part of the Statue Hall, which he would be cleaning later that day. Link maneuvered his bike around to that "exciting" side, pulled under a rocky overhang and got off of his bike. After making sure it was covered with a tarp, he pulled off his helmet and goggles then stepped over to the back door. Unlike the front door which was a towering wooden gateway, carved with scenes of several notable Heroes in the past which could very well be in a museum, the back door was simple, a metal door with patches of rust on its dented surface.

He took a key ring out of his pocket and unlocked the door. It creaked open and a dimly lit, dirty stairwell led into the building's basement. Not exactly what the general public thought was down under their prestigious academy, but it worked for what it was used for. Which was storage and cleaning. He shouldered his bag, marching down the stairs as if entering some evil beast's dwelling, and if it were any older he could very well be doing just that.

Link pushed through a second door at the bottom of the stairs into the sanitation staff room. The smell of cleaning equipment and soapy water ever present in the basement rooms of the school. The room was set up in a half circle, the flat side covered with old lockers and the rest used for storing the trolleys and various tables, chairs and desks. Very exciting. The other janitors were already there, pulling on their gloves and filling their carts with various cleaning supplies and getting ready for the day. There were only five of us for the day shift, not much needed cleaning normally but hey, it was a large building after all. There was Link, of course, as well as Shadly, Kaepora, Jim and the guy we all referred to as "Ted". He was mute and old, but an incredibly hard worker. Jim was also from Latoan City, but was from the second tier. They didn't really talk much, but Link generally thought he was a good guy, aside from the time he found him napping behind the bleachers. Kaepora was the one who Link knew the best, and had helped him get the job in the first place. He had a lot of sway here in the academy, seeing as he was the only janitor to have been into Hyrule Castle, as a guard no less. But he retired and tried for a simpler life when Link wasn't nagging him about his time as a soldier, but more on that later. Shadly was the laziest member of the janitorial staff, and only had to keep the bathrooms tidy on account of that.

Link went up to his locker and tossed his bag in, the old locker creaking. He pulled off his jacket, pulling on a larger grey coat and a toss hat. His cart had floor cleaning supplies, so a mop, soapy water, sponges, two brooms and a few other items of cleaning value. Link sighed and grabbed the handle, already frustrated at the task ahead of him and the rest of the staff apparently felt the same way, who noticed his sigh and followed suit. Yesterday was the annual Picori Festival, and the party was a real mess to clean up, especially here at the academy where the second largest party was held in honor of this "sacred" day. In all honesty most people just used it as an excuse to drink, get a day off, and generally have a great time. Picori weren't even involved at this point, only in the name.

Then it happened

Did I get you? Well that's how Link feels every day of his life at the academy. Like something big could happen, but he just wasn't a part of it. But hey, that's just normal for every student here. Why? Because they are always waiting for their chance to be a _hero_. That's why every student had to get the Triforce tattooed on their dominate hand, so that if the Triforce of Courage returned… that's a story that should be told, at least in brief.

It happened three thousand years ago, Hyrule was on the brink of destruction as their world literally crumbled around them. The stars, the sun, the moon, all gone. Even the surrounding nations of Holodrum and Labrynna had been eaten up in this void. In a final moment of defiance and hope, the Triforce was called upon and all three pieces found. Power, Wisdom and Courage.

The Princess made the wish, high above the Castle Town in her throne room. "For all that I have done, see that my heart yearns to save the people that I lead. Help the people of Hyrule. Save your people!" After only a moment, the Triforce shone brightly and broke apart, soaring out and around what was left of the world. The three pieces glowed even brighter, and began to circle the Kingdom faster and faster until the sky turned blue, clouds littered the sky and the sun burned brightly again. A single guard was able to hear her words and spread them across Hyrule and the people praised their ruler and the Goddesses. All was normal.

However, the three pieces of the Triforce had exhausted themselves to save the Goddess's people. Wisdom drifted slowly back to the Princess, weakly glowing and no longer radiating the same as it had before. Power burst into thousands of fragments and was scattered to the wind and over the mountains to the west of Hyrule. Courage fell slowly to the ground, and rested there in a field until several farmers went to it, where they saw it had vanished in the fields of wheat, leaving only an imprint. But in this imprint were words, pushed into the soil, and they read: "Wisdom shall shine bright again when Power burns harshly in the west, and when my sisters are strong again, I shall return: The Courage in the heart of the Hero, to save Hyrule again."

This is the story that led to the creation of the Academy, waiting for Courage to return and a Hero to rise and save Hyrule from its troubles once more. But why the tattoos? That is simple. When courage does return, the other marks will disappear, and only the hero that truly has the Crest of the Royal family on his hand shall keep his. That is the story that led Hyrule to what it is today, a nation holding its breath.

Link turned the faucet off and hefted the pail from the sink and onto his cart with a grunt. His task of the day was to help Tim and Kaepora clean the Statue Hall. He grabbed the cart, pulling on his gloves. This wasn't going to be an easy task. He pushed the cart up a ramp and into the main hallway of the school, turning to his right and heading down toward the center of the building. He passed several classrooms, each labeled with the professor's name. None were lit seeing as the day after the Picori Festival was a day of rest. At least for most people. There were still those who would have to work, such as the Queen herself and most lower jobs that had maintenance to do to keep Hyrule ticking. Such as Link.

He passed under a large arch and into the Statue Hall. A very large room that was a little over four stories in height, while still being wide enough for a large crowd. Prominently in the center of the room was a two story marble statue of a hero, very default version of a hero though. A tunic, and that sock hat thing, a copy of the Master Sword held above his head and a Hylian shield bearing the markings of the Royal Family. The rest of the hallway was filled with the twelve prominent heroes of Hyrule, only a few of which had names to their faces. Some were young, most were around seventeen to twenty but there was a rather old looking Hero with a long beard and a wrinkled face. That was the Hero of Time as he was in reality.

On the far wall was a huge stained glass mural depicting the Triforce of courage above the Hero of Time as he was when he saved Hyrule, he was the one that most people thought of when they thought of a true Hylian Hero. The rest of the room was covered in banners and columns. The upper two levels of the Academy had balconies overlooking this chamber, with the third floor crossing over the center via a bridge. Banner hung from those banisters as well; blue, green and a few red ones as well. Well, that is unless it is the day after the Picori Festival.

The Hall was a mess, and only the Hero Statue was left untouched. The floor was a mess of garbage and spilled drinks, tables littered the area and were left covered with last night's meals. Various items were draped on the balconies and various hero statues, from cups to lipstick painted on the statues. Link rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting out a low sigh. While normally this would be left to the night shift if it were a normal party, but they did not have work last night due to the parties all over Hyrule. So it was up to Link and the other members of the day shift to clean the entire Academy from top to bottom in a day. Thankfully Tim and Kaepora were already busy at work, garbage bags out and cleaning off the tables. Another blessing was that the party was limited to certain areas of the Academy, but this mess would occupy them for most of the day.

Link pulled out his mop and pail and began mopping floors of stains and various other substances. It was hard work, for sure, but the pay was honestly worth it. While Link's home may be crap, it was a personal choice to keep it that way. He had plans, oh yes plans. A get rich scheme he had come up with who knows how long ago. Live like shit and save, save, save. That was it, honestly. He had saved up quite a large amount of rupees already. Yes, you heard me, rupees. Multicolor stones were still the currency of Hyrule. Well mostly, there was a coin system introduced during Great Britain's assistance in the Cold War. Pounds and whatnot, but it didn't hold. While he had been payed in these coins occasionally, they were worth quite a large sum in rupees. But hey, pay was pay and he had lived like this for a long time, all that was left to do was to keep working and saving. Mainly working, at the moment.

It took the three of them quite some time, but they had finally removed the last of the set up tables in the Statue Hall, meaning that it was finally clean. Shadly and Jim had finished with the other, less touched wings of the building, leaving the five of them done for the day. The large clock in the entrance wing told Link that it was roughly seven at night, and the sky didn't lie either. It was rather dark tonight, heavy cloud cover made sure of that. Kaepora clapped Link on the shoulder, startling the younger man out of his thoughts. "And you said we would all be fired." Kaepora said jokingly, smirking at Link. "But hey, at least the night staff didn't show up and ruin our great work!" There was a short pause before they, and the others, broke out into laughter, Tim smiling and tapping the floor with his broom. It was a running joke that they were the artists of the janitor shifts, the night shift being little moblins that can't clean properly and thusly, day shift has to make it all look great again.

Shadly spoke up, leaning partly on his trolley. "All right you lot, let's leave shall we? Don't want to have to fight any moblins with only a few broom handles between us." Another round of chuckles came from Shadly's little quip and they returned to the basement to put away their cleaning supplies. Link however, did so slowly. As did Kaepora. They each said their goodbyes to Link and Kaepora before setting off down to the village together, telling jokes and generally having a good time. Kaepora and Link however eyed each other.

They each pulled a broomstick from the closet, and stepped toward the open space in the center of the basement. They set to walking in a circle, facing each other on opposite sides. Kaepora twirled his broom in a series of motions, in the end pointing it at Link. Link followed suit, smirking at the end of his own little flourish. They stopped pacing in the circle, taking opposing stances.

"On my mark, Link…" The older man said, his tone hushed. Link nodded, and they stood as still as statues, knuckles white on their brooms.

"Go!" Kaepora shouted, and Link pulled his broom up, blocking a downward strike from Kaepora. Link stepped back, and knocked Kaepora's next swipe away before lunging forward with his broom in a horizontal slice. Kaepora's movements mirrored Link's previous as he simply swatted the strike aside, and went for a counterattack. Link's next block was flimsy at best, but he managed to maneuver his fellow janitor's broom to the side before jumping away from Kaepora. Link took a deep breath, getting back into his stance as Kaepora did the same.

"Good." He said, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Again. Go!" He lunged at Link, stabbing at him with his broom. Link pushed the stab away before countering with another horizontal strike. Kaepora jumped back, and Link grinned, pushing forward toward the old guard. Another horizontal strike was knocked aside, and Link went in with a stab. The broom found its way past Kaepora's guard, and with a startled grunt, it hit him square in the gut. Kaepora stumbled back, placing his broom on the floor for balance. He let out a few breaths, before looking up at Link, a small smile on his face.

"Always a first time for anything, I suppose." Kaepora muttered, loud enough for Link to hear.

"Well at least we know I'm getting better." Link replied, smiling widely while taking a breath. While he was no slouch when it came to fighting, he had nothing on the retired guard. The two of them had been doing this for at least four years, since Link turned fourteen, and that was the first time, he had actually hit the old timer. They started sparring and training on a regular basis when Link began working at the Academy, Kaepora had insisted on it after only the third week. When pushed for a reason his response was always the same. "Ordon's a dangerous province, especially in the lower tier of the city. I just want to see you get out of there with a head still on your shoulders." And it had saved Link a few times actually, primarily during a brawl near Link's apartment. He was able to take down (Not kill) the gang members who attacked him. But that was only because Kaepora had not only covered swords (brooms).

He had taught link the basics of a lot of forms, from fists and swords to hammers and staves. Link definitely was not a master of any of these, but he did show some promise in swordplay, so that's what Kaepora narrowed his teachings down to. Thankfully, Link was progressing faster than he had with the other types of fighting, and began to make each and every sparring match with Kaepora closer and closer. He hardly left feeling sore anymore, from bruises at least.

"All right Link, I think I'm going to call it a night there. This old body has had enough for one day of cleaning and fighting." He rubbed his belly as he put his and Link's brooms away. "I hope you didn't leave a bruise that would be hard to explain to the missus."

"Same here, with the tired thing, I'm beat from mopping down the Hero of Water." Link smirked at his own joke, but Kaepora didn't seem to hear as he tossed his own bag over his shoulder. "Good night Link, I will see you in the morning. Get some rest and be ready for tomorrow, I will have a little surprise for you that I think you will like." With that he pushed his way out the back door and into the night, leaving Link to his thoughts in the basement.

He walked over to the lockers, miming thrusts and swings all the way. It honestly was a great way to end the day, with his first victory and all. "But what could his surprise be?" He said aloud to the empty building. The giant, ominous, empty Academy of Hyrule. A shiver went down his spine as he said those words.

"I hate being alone in her" He muttered under his breath as he hastily pulled on his green jacket and slipped out the back door. Somewhat ready for his dark and cold ride back to the city.

**Author End Thing**

So! A little more than a week, I apologize. Life caught up with me and writers block kicked into full gear, but I am back into the writing groove! Sorta! I don't want to actually set myself a schedule for this, so I'm just going to say that I will try to update this more frequently than once a year. Hopefully every month or so. But Yeah! Heres Chapter two, where I tried to explain the academy and its purpose in Hyrule, as well as introduce you to Link a little bit, who is a little different from past Links in Hyrule's History! Mainly, he doesn't sleep forever, he's more rigorous than that. He has goals, which I will tear apart and then put back together in a different way. And that should happen, with any luck, in the next chapter or two! (Just the tearing up part)

Thanks .7965692, and TheBigOne for the reviews! I really appreciate them! And thank you Jerimiah for reminding me about this fanfic! If you ever want to ask me a question about this fic, anyone, just ask away in the review section or in a PM and I will try to answer it during the author section in chapter 3. Cya!


	4. Chapter 3- What is This?

Chapter 3

A void. That's all that Link could see before him. Infinite in its emptiness, but strangely, it was lit. Not light a lightbulb, more like early morning sunlight was streaming in from a crack somewhere. But there wasn't a crack and it just seemed to be there, with no source. There was wind too, it blew over him like a stream, or as if he were in a shower of wind. The breeze didn't seem to have a point of origin either, it just came from wherever it fancied. That was fine though. Link found the void and all its strangeness quite comforting, even though blinking didn't seem to block his vision. Nothing disrupted the endless painting of light and dark that was around him, not even waving his hand in front of his face. . Yet he could see himself and his clothes, waving his arm in front of his face was an odd sight, since Link could see both the hand and the void behind it at the same time. He knew he still existed, he could feel his clothes, as the wind rustled his tunic and hat. Yeah, he didn't wear a tunic so that concerned him, but only at first. It seemed… natural to wear this. It was a green tunic, with chainmail underneath and a belt across the waist and one of those sideways belts crossed his chest. The green reminded him of the forest he camped in from time to time, the sense of adventure in those woods always brought him back, although nothing ever happened there.

As comforting as the void was, an odd sensation lingered at the back of his mind, like there was something he was supposed to be doing, or remembering. Something important. He tried to push the feeling aside, but it just would not leave him as he slowly adapted to the odd environment. He crossed his arms, and for the first time, noticed something drifting in front of him. Something distant, he thought, but that could just as easily be close. He had nothing to give him a sense of depth, not a tree or a car or anything.

He took a deep breath and began moving toward the thing, and thankfully he actually began to move forward. Nothing to push off of and no water to swim through, yet moving was not at all difficult or impossible, as it should be. The object slowly began to get closer, which was a relief to Link, it was proof that he was moving toward it. He didn't want to just keep moving toward the spec, not making any progress. That would have been too weird for him. Well, at this point nothing was too weird but it would make him uncomfortable.

The object flashed, and Link blinked. It was a drastic change to the odd lighting of the void, and honestly he covered his eyes. Yet, as before, when he wanted to not be able to see, he could still see. It began to flash erratically, piercing golden light filtering out the odd twilight around him. The erratic flashing soon turned into a sustained bright and blinding light that Link continued to try and filter out, to no avail.

"Link."

The voice seemed to echo through the vast emptiness around him. Link stopped. He stopped breathing, blinking and moving. His thoughts flew by him, with no time to linger on any single thought except: "I thought I was alone." It was only after a second passed that Link realized he had spoken that thought aloud.

"You have been, but fear not, I am with you now."

Link lowered his arms, for all the good they did anyway, taking in what had happened to the void. It was all filled with the golden light, the same that had nearly blinded him before. The vast space around him was now a solid color, making it even harder to distinguish anything. He tried to gather his thoughts again, but he just did not feel that any of them were important enough to form words for. After a few minutes he was able to collect enough fragmented thoughts to speak, even if it was only a simple question.

"Wh-who are you?" He managed.

The voice laughed. Not a mocking tone that Kaepora might have used to distract Link in a fight, but a calm and caring tone, that genuinely might have expected him to ask that very question.

"I am here to assist you, Link. I am the Triforce of Courage."

Something in Link's mind snapped. Not like his sanity or anything, but whatever had been preventing him from speaking was suddenly gone. So he laughed, in surprise if nothing else. He didn't even bother to compose himself before speaking again. "Of course you are! And I am Link, King of England! What a joke." He slowly stopped laughing, the voice oddly silent, betraying nothing. It felt as if it was smiling for some reason. Link honestly felt insulted. While he had, at last, finally realized that he was inside a dream, his own dream was poking fun at him! He had spent all day cleaning up the Statue Hall, which contained all the Heroes of Hyrule, most of which had the Triforce on their hands. His mind must have focused in on that part of his day and done this!

"Do you really believe that, Link?"

Link sighed and raised a brow, contemplating for only a moment how the voice had read his mind. "Well yeah, it's pretty obvious to me now. Hell, I'm even dressed like them!"

"Then allow me to prove myself to you, oh lowly cleaner of halls."

Link crossed his arms yet again. Who did his subconscious think it was dealing with? Well here he was talking to himself, at least three times over. At least he could go along with whatever his mind was doing.

He waited a few moments before anything began to happen, then the void slowly began to become filled with something. He could feel a plush carpet under his boots, the air crisp and cold. A low music began to play. Neutral in tone, but ominous all the same.

Then things began to solidify out of the air. The carpet slowly became real, the white stone beneath growing out from where he was standing. The walls formed and rose higher and higher until the ceiling was lost in darkness. Windows that brought in light from the void, which looked as it did before the voice arrived, slowly came into being; large and simple while making distinct shapes in the surface of the glass.

Several platforms rose up on either side of the now deep red carpet. Too many to count. Statues formed on each, all of which portrayed a figure in similar clothes to what Link was now wearing. Theses must have been the Heroes of Hyrule. They were exquisite in detail, much more so than those in the Statue Hall, which were amazing, at best. He heard wood creaking and turned, behind him rose a huge wooden door from the carpet, very simple, yet very imposing. It was at least as tall as the door to the Academy, which was two stories high. At its base were carved several symbols which Link could not decipher.

He turned away and saw that a large pedestal upon an even larger platform had risen up from the floor at the far end of the strange building. The wings normally found on the Hylian crest of the royal family rose on either side of the platform. Behind this a smaller door, made of pure white stone and lined with gold. Throughout all of this, one symbol stood out and repeated itself over and over.

The Triforce.

It was on the Pedestals, all over the carpet. On the bases of every statue. The windows portrayed three each, and the door behind him had a single large Triforce, right in the center of it. The door far in front of him was the only object to not have a Triforce on it. But that wasn't an issue, as floating right in front of the door, between the wings of the royal family's crest, was a single golden triangle.

"Do you believe me now, janitor?"

Link jumped away from the voice, which this time had come from right beside him. He bumped into one of the statues, the Hero of Skies perhaps, and turned to face the voice.

Standing, well no, **floating **next to where he had been standing was a rather tall woman. She had golden hair, and calm grey eyes. She wore a rather simple dress, with the symbol of the Triforce around the wrists, waist, and base of said dress that reached down to her feet, which were bare. Her face was rather skinny, as was the rest of her, and it gave her a distinct look. One that made it obvious that she was no human or Hylian, even though she had pointed ears like Link and many others in Hyrule.

Link took a moment to respond after studying her. "Well…" He took a breath and stood up straighter, brushing invisible dust from the tunic. "You present a compelling argument." He watched her face for anything, any sort of telltale sign that she was just a face he had known somewhere. He was beginning to doubt that though, especially after she smiled. He had never seen a genuine smile like that, or if he had it hadn't been nearly as breathtaking.

She chuckled at Link's expression, and to his surprise he found himself blushing. "I thought that having somewhere you could stand would help, your type always prefers the tangible experience. I thought this may help to convince you, or at least open you up to listening to what I have to say." She waved her arm around the room, motioning to it all. "This is the Hall of Heroes. A sacred place that few Heroes find themselves visiting, but are immortalized for all time after being found as a Hero."

She pursed her lips, apparently thinking. "Well, my recreation of it in your mindscape at any rate. I somehow doubt that it still exists after such a long time with no new heroes."

The smile returned to her face as she turned away from Link. "And over here…" She floated across the room, not making a noise, to the Golden Triangle. "Is myself, as all within Hyrule know me."

"The Triforce of Courage." Link said, almost without thinking. His hand rushed up to his mouth, already kicking himself for going right along with the dream, which he was quickly realizing might not actually be a dream in the sense he had been thinking of. She smiled kindly.

"Correct, Link."

Link began to approach the Triforce of Courage, not the woman, slowly. He did not yet entirely feel convinced, but he was definitely almost ready to believe it. He could never, in his wildest dreams, come up with a place like this. He wasn't that creative, or dedicated to make this place. But…

The Triforce suddenly loomed before him, and he realized he had been moved to the platform. Or the platform had moved to him. He couldn't remember, it all seemed like a blur. She no longer stood beside the golden triangle, and the room around him had grown dim, aside from the light of the Triforce piece. The different statues of the different heroes seemed to be staring him in the back. Not in any judgmental way but almost… almost as if they were encouraging him.

Brief thoughts flashed in his mind, faces and places he had never been in or had never seen. He felt a strangely familiar weight on his back, making him stand straighter. He grabbed at his back, feeling nothing. He blinked as more memories flashed in his vision, like a film. Except each frame was vastly different from the one before it. With each flash, a new emotion wedged itself into Link's mind, vanishing moments later. A terrible thought began to occur to him, one that had slowly been forming in the back of his mind. The Triforce interrupted his thoughts, and confirmed his thoughts.

"Link, you are the chosen Hero of this age, chosen bearer of the Triforce of Courage!"

He stood there a moment, not completely registering what had just been said to him, even though he had already almost come to the same conclusion. Him? A Hero of Hyrule? It just was not… possible? He thought a moment, about what he had learned about the Heroes of Hyrule's past.

None of them had been prepared for what was only providence that descended upon them like a crown. Labeling them for all time as a Hero. The difference between them and Link was that there, thankfully, wasn't some looming threat hanging over Hyrule or the world. Just the terrible threat of cleaning up after different parties.

"That is where you are wrong, Link." The Triforce piece said, its voice echoing off the stone around him. "There is a threat looming over Hyrule and the world, one that will soon strike to destroy all. But now is not the time for this, there are more… pressing matters you should see to." The Triforce began to glow and, to his surprise, Link's hand flew up to touch the surface and, for a moment, he could feel the cool, smooth surface vibrating with energy under his fingers.

The Triforce glowed brightly, Link's vision enveloped by the golden light. "First you must make sure that you are still in one piece. My timing may have been poor, considering how strangely fast you were going…" The Light began to fade slowly as Link felt himself gaining consciousness.

"Wait! What is the threat! What have you put me up against?" There was no reply as the dream crumbled and EVERYHING began to hurt.

"Ooooh man, what happened?"

Link rolled over in the grass, early morning light hurting his eyes as he attempted to take stock of himself and his surroundings. He remembered now, the feeling of sleep overtaking him as he rode home from work. His eyes closing as his bike began to tumble off the road. His eyes shot open wide, and he forced himself up. "A crash, just great." His body had focused in on only a few pain centers now, meaning that the pain he felt earlier was mostly dulled as his body attempted to tell him where to put his attention. Mainly his chest but his leg too.

He grimaced as he got to his feet. Thankfully his legs weren't broken, so that was a bonus. His chest hurt like a truck had hit him, but at least it didn't feel like anything was too wrong. Link began to walk around the clearing, slowly picking up his goggles and the contents of his bag.

He stopped and leaned against one of the small trees surrounding the clearing he was in. Link wasn't even sure if you could call them trees, they were more like large shrubbery. The Eldin Mountains were notorious for these types of plants, but patches like these were not quite as common. Thankfully, however, they cushioned his fall. Maybe even saved his life. He looked beyond the small clearing, and saw the sheer drop-off on the other side. Yeah, definitely saved his life.

Link turned around, looking at the hill he had fallen down. It wasn't too steep at least, he could get back up fairly easily. He took a breath, and immediately tripped over his Triumph motorcycle, which he had somehow failed to notice at his feet. His leg screamed at him, annoyingly. "Goddesses damn…" He mumbled, picking himself and his bike up off the dirt. He then, again began to walk it up the slope back toward the road. His helmet had, thankfully, stayed on through the crash and was definitely beat up. But it had probably saved his life.

If it hadn't been for that damned Triforce…

Link's heart stopped. The dream. He slowly raised his left hand from the handle. Taking a deep breath he pulled off his riding glove and there, etched clearly into his skin, was emblem of the Triforce which slowly pulsed with light. The bottom right triangle of the Triforce was was the source of the light, pulsing with his heartbeat. The other two pieces were simply black, like a tattoo, but outlined with the same pulsating light.

Link stared at the mark on his hand, no longer thinking about the pain in his chest or legs, as he steadied himself on the slope. So the dream was real. He stared a few seconds longer, basically contemplating his life. The sound of birds bringing him back to his senses. Shaking his head, Link pulled his glove back on. _There will be time later for gawking at this… I should get to the academy, they have an infirmary that can help. I hope._

He got on his bike after checking it over for damage. Not too much, surprisingly. He would probably want to get it checked out though, if he could afford it. Otherwise he would have to walk, and that would take much too long. He sighed, pulling his helmet down on his head. Thank the gods he had been wearing it…

Link revved the engine and set off towards the Academy. He would have to visit somewhere in town to eat, if he even wanted to. He didn't actually feel too hungry, but he knew that was from shock. He had some money on him, rupees mainly, so that would be fine. Maybe he could get coffee out of the teacher's room.

Link took a shuddering breath. Trying to distract himself wasn't working. He could not get IT out of his mind. He didn't want this! He had a plan for his life! Well, not a very good one, but it was more than most other people his age.

He cursed under his breath as he rounded the next turn, down below his was the village. Kakariko, he was pretty sure, he was still a bit distracted by the thought of being a hero to really dedicate his mind to anything. He hit his breaks, skidding to a stop on the dirt road. He lifted his goggles up onto his helmet as he stared down toward Kakariko. Something caught his senses by surprise, which was surprising to be surprised by your sense's ability to be supposed.

That last sentence should adequately describe his confusion at that moment.

Making its way through the center of the sleepy village was a carriage adorned with blue and silver banners. A whole entourage accompanied it, 15 soldiers on horseback, three other carriages of varying quality and at least twenty armed guards on foot. Well armed for the Hylian army anyway. Spears and swords mainly, firearms weren't allowed unless you were on border duty.

The carriage in the middle, the blue and silver one, had the seal of the royal family on it; the red bird, the eye of the Shiekah below it, and the Triforce above. But that was hard to see, and Link only knew it because it was all over the Academy, primarily the hall of heroes, but also in every hallway and in the center of the front gate.

Link wasn't even quite sure of how to describe what caught his attention, but he was beginning to think he knew. Inside the carriage, the one covered in silver and flags and all other royal insignia, was the Princess Zelda. And she had the Triforce of Wisdom, passed down the royal family line for generations. And Link, ever so far away and up above the whole royal entourage, could _sense_ her piece. It radiated energy that he could just make out. He swallowed as he watched the carriage slow to a stop.

One of the men on horseback got off and went to the door of the carriage, opening it with a flourish. Link's heart began to race, every fiber of his being wanted to run away, get back to safety, get back to the Academy, get back from who was about to step out of that carriage. Link's hands gripped his bike. This wasn't fear, he knew that much: it was his _instincts._

He pulled down his goggles.

Link barely took notice of the Princess stepping out of the carriage before he sped off down the road toward the Academy. But he could feel her eyes on him right up to the moment he got out of sight.

**Author Bottom Text**

Hah! I got this out within the same month as the last chapter! I think it's a little longer too, maybe by a few hundred words. Well just A hundred worlds but whatever. And Link was sleeping! He didn't open up sleeping, but now he's ready to get to work. What is his job? Next time, I think. Next time. Hopefully next month, but college is getting down to the grinder so that will more than likely interfere. At any rate I hope you enjoyed it, if you have any questions PM me, or leave it in the reviews. Cya!


	5. Chapter 4- Deep Thought

Chapter 4

Link clutched his chest with one arm as he sped along the dirt road toward the Academy. _Maybe_ he had been understating the pain in his chest. It hurt quite a bit more after he had been driving for a few minutes. The adrenaline had left his body maybe? He swore under his breath and gripped the front of his jacket.

At some point in the crash, the zipper, the small bit, had fallen off of the jacket, leaving it open. The wind ripped right through him as he sped down the road, his teeth chattering and his torso aching. Maybe he had broken a rib after all. But wouldn't the pain be worse if that were the case? Link chastised himself for thinking he was more hurt than he knew he actually was. Just a few bruises, probably.

The bike seemed fine at least, only a few scratches on what was left of the old paintjob and a few dents. A few MORE dents anyway. Oh who was he kidding, thinking of the little things. Well little things compared to the confusion coiling around inside his head. Why had his heart begun to race? From fear, when the Princess came into view? Wasn't he supposed to respect and admire the Princess? And, you know, not freak out when he sees her.

Why was she even going out to Kakariko? Well, she obviously wasn't destined for that old village, but she was headed somewhere in the mountains. Maybe the Goron Historical Society? She made stops there once in a while, their museum mainly. Even though that was likely, it just didn't sound right in Link's head. Why would she have this large of an entourage with her? Sure, this was Princess Zelda, but she never had anything like this when visiting the museum. At least, not according to the papers he read.

There was somewhere else the Princess could be headed though: The Academy. There wasn't really any other place she might go with that kind of following. The only question left to Link's mind was Why?

Link's heart skipped a beat, swerving back onto the road. He had almost drifted off again, which would have put him off the road and off a cliff into a freefall to his death. But even then, that's not why his heart skipped like it had (well maybe partially). His instincts had suddenly slammed into his consciousness, that "run away while you still can, or stand and fight" sort of deal. Primarily run away in this case. Was this the act of the Triforce? It didn't really seem all that courageous. Link's mind stalled as something occurred to him.

Could she be headed to the Academy because the Triforce of Courage had returned?

It was obvious, really. What other reason was there? People would surely have noticed the lack of Triforces on the backs of their hands when the real Triforce re-formed. That was just how it worked, or at least what the story implied would happen. The Triforce would remove all the false marks of Courage so that it would be obvious to anyone who the real bearer was. Which meant that she, the Princess, was coming to discover if one of the students had actually been deemed worthy of the powerful artifact.

So much for the Academy. The Academy's one purpose was to train the potential next hero of Hyrule, and all it did was train lot of people to act _like_ Heroes. The real hero mopped their floors. Well, Link didn't do that as much as he swept the floors, but that didn't matter all too much. The fact is that while it did not train the next hero, it sort of found the next one. Well, it found the next bearer of the Triforce of Courage anyway. He wasn't a hero.

The Hero was always smart, courageous, a fighter and, most importantly, wearing a tunic. Maybe not that last part, tunics don't really exist anymore. Not in any fashion on earth as far as Link knew.

Maybe he could fight, he had been training with Kaepora for a while now. Courage? Not really. Look at what he was doing now, running away. From what? Some distorted fear of confrontation with the Princess? Heck, he didn't even go outside at night with all the thieves in the area. Then there was the hero's smartness. Link could be described as clever, but not much else. Could he really be the Hero?

Link frowned, partially losing his train of thought as he heard his motorcycle groan. Maybe it was more damaged as he had let himself believe. He eased the engine into the final stretch of dirt road as he approached the Academy, he didn't want it breaking on him after all.

He pulled up to the back door of the Academy, but there was something different. He could hear a lot of commotion coming from the front of the building, as distant as it was. He cursed his bad luck. The only other time he had heard people on the other side of the giant building was when the Princess came into town a few years back. Even then, it wasn't this loud. This was something bigger than a visit.

Link got off his bike, pulling off his helmet. It was covered in scratches and had a rather large dent in it. Link sighed, placing it onto the handlebars of the bike. He would deal with fixing it up later. He knelt down to the bottom of his bike, noticing a large branch sticking out of the side. How had he missed this? He gave it a few good pulls before it finally came free. Goddesses damned, this must have been the problem that was causing the groaning. Link threw the branch over his shoulder, pulling his hat from the side bag, a green beret that marked him as part of the Academy's staff.

He pulled out his key ring and unlocked the back door, and for once the old thing didn't creak to hell. Someone must have oiled it. He walked down into the basement, hearing commotion from the other side. He wasn't one to mingle with the night staff, who would most likely still be on duty, but it wouldn't be the first time he "volunteered" for overtime. Maybe he could just get the stuff out of the first aid case and go before they acquired him. He opened the door, to a slight surprise.

All of the night crew was here, looking rather tired. Same with the day crew. They all stood in the middle, talking in somewhat hushed tones. This was very rare. Both crews barely worked with one another, and only when there was a big event that required everything to be spick and span. Except the Picori Festival which apparently only needs the day crew. School budgets man.

Up above them Link could hear the student's rushing around, either preparing for classes or something bigger, he didn't know. He made his way over to the lockers, avoiding eye contact. On the right side of the lockers was the first aid box, secured to the wall. Link unstrapped the case from the wall, placing it on the bench and revealing the contents.

It was empty.

"Damn." He whispered, closing the small container. Wasn't this illegal or something? Having an empty first aid kit could mean the death of someone. Strapping it back onto the wall, he turned back to the janitors. Shadly frowned slightly as Link approached.

"You alright Link? You look a bit battered."

Link entered the huddled group, most of them gave him a once over, nodding in agreement or not saying anything. "I had a little tumble off the road back to Ordon City. Nothing serious. Just a few scrapes and bruises."

Kaepora looked Link up and down. "You sure about that? I know that motorcycle of yours can be rather dangerous." The others nodded, aside from Jona from the night crew. Link wasn't sure that Jona even knew what a motorcycle was. He was pretty young and was from Kakariko. "At any rate," Kaepora continued. "You needn't have rushed. Princess Zelda isn't going to be here for another hour or so."

Link raised an eyebrow, noticing that his own heartrate increased at the mention of the Princess's name, but he tried not to let it show. "The Princess is coming here?" He asked, feigning ignorance.

Kaepora crossed his arms. "The Academy sent a notice to all of us, informing us of her visit and that we needed to be here." He raised an eyebrow, mirroring Link. "Did you not get this message?"

Link shrugged. "I didn't check my mail this morning." Completely true, thankfully. Unthankfully, he hadn't even made it back to his apartment last night.

Kaepora nodded, and looked like he was about to say something before the door to the main hall of the school opened up. Through it came Mr. Sturgeon, a short old man with a large, bald head. Today it gleamed with sweat, probably due to the fact that the Princess herself was going to be here soon. He was the headmaster, and was going on 30 years now as the headmaster of the Hyrule Academy. His dark green, tailored jacket trimmed with gold was a testament to his status.

He didn't approach our group, instead he stood a good distance away. Right next to the door. "K-Kaepora, is everyone here now?" Mr. Sturgeon always insisted on talking to Kaepora, probably because Kaepora was from Castle town as opposed to basically anywhere else. Kaepora nodded, standing straighter than he had before, as he always did when talking to someone that was above him in rank. Some military habits die hard.

Mr. Sturgeon nodded in return to Kaepora. "Be sure to stay out of sight, and efficient while her majesty is here. If she catches sight of you, please, try to look busy." He pulled out a small cloth and dabbed his forehead with it. Link wasn't even sure where Sturgeon decided his forehead ended and his actual head began.

"I expect nothing but the best from our staff, and I'm sure her majesty would say the same. If anything goes wrong in your department, you will pay the penalty, as you all know." He stuffed the handkerchief in his jacket pocket, and turned to leave, but Kaepora stopped him with a quick question. "Sir, do we know why she is going to be here?"

Mr. Sturgeon sighed slightly, closing the door again before turning partially back to our group. "From the message we received, her majesty is certain that the Triforce of Courage has returned. I pray to Farore that one our students actually received it." With that he pushed his way out the door and back into the polished halls of the Academy.

The staff stood huddled for a moment not talking, taking it in. Well, aside from Link. He was far from the train of thought that the others had. Theirs would most likely be trying to think about how much Hyrule might change with the return of Courage, and maybe on where the Triforce of Power might be.

Link, however, was thinking about the little triangular tattoo on the back of his hand, hidden beneath his glove for the time being. He hoped the damn thing wasn't still glowing, or it might just glow right through the fabric and give himself away. It's funny, he thought to himself, that the Triforce would actually choose someone who didn't want it. Or at least the attention in drew to him.

_You can tell him._

Link jumped slightly from the voice he heard. His eyes opened slightly wider as he became visibly tense. Kaepora raised an eyebrow at Link, who tried to relax. Sadly, Link could not relax. He recognized that voice. Farore. The Triforce of Courage.

_Kaepora can help you._

Link stayed nearly absolutely still, breathing deeply to try and calm himself. It's not every day you hear a voice in your head, let alone one you recognize. _"Help me with what?"_ Link asked internally.

_Mention to Kaepora the name Telma, and then show him me._

If it were possible to pass out and not pass out while simultaneously losing every ounce of rigidity in your body, Link did it. In other words he wobbled in place before stumbling back and landing hard on a bench. _TELMA. _Telma. Why in Nayrue's name would he mention Telma?

Any talking in the group stopped as Link did this, their eyes turned to him. The day crew showed concern, while night just continued to look tired, but confused. Kaepora hurriedly stepped over to him, probably the most concerned out of all of them.

"Link are you all right?" He asked, resting a hand on Link's shoulder. Link shook his head, staring off into space. "I-I think I took a harder tumble than I thought." Kaepora made Link look into his eyes. "So, you did have an accident with your bike this morning." Kaepora was looking intently at each of Link's eyes, probably looking for a concussion. Although he didn't have an electric torch, so that would be difficult.

Kaepora stopped, looking back to the day and night crews, some of whom were still watching. "How about all of you get to work. I'm pretty sure the auditorium could use some attention. Send a few of you outside to help the groundskeepers, they're down Baris and Herb today."

Both crews took a moment, probably still thinking about the Triforce of Courage's return, before they snapped back into reality and began to prep for the day. Kaepora stood up and walked over to the first aid kit, pulling the box from its spot. Link didn't bother telling him that the container was empty. He was still thinking over what he had to do.

Telma, to the less informed of Hyrule's current internal affairs, was a rebel group of sorts. They operated in secret and were in many positions of both power and the more mundane. Just two months ago they, reportedly, performed a string of robberies throughout Castle Town, Latoan City and the eastern towns. They stole mainly old magical artifacts, but also some of the outside technology Hyrule had.

But that is how they were viewed to the general public. As Link knew, they had also helped many people, by redistributing other things, such as food and water to the sick and poverty stricken. Heck, Link personally knew a few in Latoan City. Not that he was friends with them by any means, they were still criminals after all. He just happened to know them.

But to suggest that Kaepora, an ex-member of the Hylian Army, a guard in Hyrule Castle and one of the most well-known people working at the Hylian Academy even as a janitor, was a member of this underground syndicate: was quite a claim. Even coming from a goddess.

Oh goddesses, Link had nearly forgotten who had told him this in the first place. That being the Triforce of Courage itself, basically a goddess with the power it held.

To say that he was a little overwhelmed would be quite an understatement.

Kaepora pulled a chair over before lifting the lid on the first aid kit. Sighing slightly, he closed the box and went to get up. Before he was able to, Link placed a hand on his shoulder. Kaepora gave him a slightly confused look, before resettling himself. They both stayed silent until the rest of the janitorial staff had left, off to clean and take care of the academy.

"I take it you have something to say?" Kaepora stated, his tone slightly hushed.

Link took a deep breath, deciding to start small. "Well, I did crash my bike at some point last night. Passed out while driving, woke up a little over an hour ago." He paused, taking a moment to think about how he wanted to go about this. As he spoke, he removed his hand from Kaepora's shoulder.

If he didn't trust Kaepora, who was basically his mentor at this point, who could he trust?

"You don't seem finished." Kaepora said, placing the plastic box on the floor. Link nodded, prepping himself.

"Well, Kaepora. As random as this might seem… does Telma mean anything to you?" Link met Kaepora's eyes after asking this. Kaepora shifted in his seat, his face set in an expression somewhere between questioning and concerned. "That's a rather touchy subject these days Link." He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "What exactly happened after you woke up from your crash?"

Link fidgeted in his seat, playing with his gloves. "It's not so much what happened after I woke up. It was more… while I was asleep." He was still skirting the subject. Should he just do what Farore suggested and reveal that which has probably changed his life forever?

Kaepora didn't move, but he continued. "Was something stolen? Was Telma involved? I'm really not sure where this is going Link." Concern was etched into his face. Gone was the confusion, now all Link could see was that worry he had seen a few times in his life when talking about his life in Latoan City. It wasn't a look he ever liked. Link wasn't helpless, he had lived on his own for quite some time.

But hell if he didn't feel helpless right now.

Link steeled himself and pulled off his glove. There, just as it had been before, was the Triforce. The triangle shone slightly in the dim light of the janitor's room. Kaepora didn't immediately notice, taking off a glove isn't exactly a large noteworthy event. But he wasn't dense, and less than a second passed before he took notice of the holy mark on the back of his protégé's hand.

There were a few moments of silence before Link spoke. "I had a… dream. And I woke up with this. It was brighter then, but now it's a bit duller." Link didn't take a breath. "Then after Mr. Sturgeon left it spoke to me to tell me to show you that I had it. But it also told me to mention Telma to you. I'm not really sure what it meant, or why but I did and now I don't exactly know what to-"

Kaepora slapped him across the face with a loud smack. It stung. Link took a moment to gather himself.

"Thanks." He managed.

Kaepora didn't reply as he looked a moment longer at the back of Link's hand. Link swallowed hard, not knowing what to do.

"Link, I am a member of Telma." Kaepora Looked Link dead in the eyes. They still showed concern, but his face had changed. It was steely. Cold. Determined. Thankfully it was the eyes that mattered most.

"I don't know why the Triforce chose me." Link said, almost desperately. Link chided himself. Every story of the bearers of the Triforce mentioned the same thing. It is one thing to be cliché, but it's another to continue a trend.

"I don't think anyone knows why anything happens to them, even if they tried to get that thing to happen." Kaepora blinked a few times before picking up the first aid kit and standing up. He didn't say anything as he replaced it on the wall.

"Kaepora… do you know why the Triforce would direct me… to Telma? To you?" Link made to get u, but fell back down again. His legs were still like rubber, but feeling was returning to them as the initial shock of… well of many things was giving way to worry.

Kaepora gave a kind smile, opening his locker. "Well Link, I think your Triforce has more of an idea than I do. But I can take a guess."

He pulled out his jacket, an old leather number with the Hylian crest etched into the shoulder. This was followed by his bag, which he pulled onto his shoulder. He tossed his own green beret inside before he closed the locker.

He turned back to Link. "Telma can help you begin what I can only assume is your quest."

Link actually managed to get up, though a bit wobbly. Kaepora steadied Link by grabbing his shoulder, to which Link mumbled a thanks. "And what is that quest?" Please don't be cryptic, he asked internally.

Kaepora approached the back door, and turned around. "Telma has been looking out for the good of Hyrule since the beginning of the Cold War. Stealing technology, information and resources for the good people stuck in the middle. More recently, however," He opened the door, motioning for Link to follow him before continuing. "Telma has taken an interest in the magic that envelops and lives within Hyrule." He paused a moment. "Well, did. Magic has been leaking out of Hyrule in unprecedented amounts. I think, and this is me spit balling here so don't take it to heart, that your quest will be to stop that." With that they stepped out into the now well-lit backside of the Academy.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Link exclaimed, ever so slightly exasperated. Kaepora might have chuckled under his breath, but Link wasn't certain. He walked up to Link's bike and picked up the helmet. Turning it over in his hands, Kaepora replied. "How about we start by getting to Kakariko Village." With that he tossed the helmet to Link and got on the bike.

"We should get going."

**Author Words**

So… I am very late with this. Better than a year, I suppose. I guess I should offer an excuse. That being: I forgot about it. With my new job (I work nights) throwing off my schedule, the end of my third semester at college (A few months ago) and general distractions (damn it tf2) I simply had to put this aside. And for me out of sight = out of mind. Thank you New Universe Returns for posting a review and completely reminding me that I had a halfway finished chapter sitting on my computer.

But here it is! The next chapter! I'm wrapping this up at about 2 in the morning, New York time. I will try to update the next chapter soon, but this part of the story still needs to be fleshed out in a planning stage. Once we get a little farther (a chapter or two) I will be able to churn these out much faster. That being said, I am easily distracted. I will give myself a deadline: August 11th. Sometime between now, and then. See you then!


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